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I'm not looking for a bunch of grade school replies because I know alot of people here are young. I'm curious to know how many of the older people have gotten Bachelors/Masters/Doctorates/Certificates/Associates/ etc.

I go to Michigan State University and their computer science program is really outdated. They infact have not 1 course related to the internet. So I really dont know what I want to do here, I do not want to move but I dont think I'll get what I want at MSU.

I've looked high and low for some sort of distance learning webmaster program and I've found a good one.

Now Penn State has an excellent program for the internet. Its separate from computer science and called Information Systems Technology. If I wanted to move I'd move to PA in an instant and major in that. However I dont but Penn State does offer a webmaster certificate through its distance learning program. Whats more is that I could breeze through it.

See I'm not looking to learn something new, I'm looking to get a piece of paper that makes me more attractive to employers. I think this is a good option for that, make my education official instead of self taught.

So that brings me back to my original question, for the older people here, how many of you have degrees or certificates and do you think you could have gotten your current job without it? Is college now just a technicality?

Mostly self taught. I went to High School, a year and a half of college, dropped out to get married and then 6 years ago I went to Computer Learning Center. I had a lousy job as a Janitor for the Los Angeles County Probation Department and the commercial seemed good.

At CLC, I learned Cobol and C programming, earned a certificate as a Programmer and got my first job. Since leaving there I have learned C++, Visual Basic, HTML, Javascript, SQL, Transact SQL and recently ASP, Oracle SQL. I am also currently teaching myself PHP.

I have a bachelor's degree in history, and I returning to school soon to get a master's in education.

I am essentially self-taught as far a computers go(The internet is really an amazing resource for learning). I plan to only do web design work part-time in the future, and I doubt that most clients would care that I don't have a computer related degree, as long as I can do the work well.

I left school at 16 with 10 O'levels and went in the Army as a Medic. I got a degree in Medical Laboratory Science while in the Army and left after ten years.
After leaving the Army I did a Media and Film Studies degree. I've also picked up a couple of A'Levels and a BTEC.

None of these has anything at all to do with being a web-designer, at which I am am self taught. This probably explains why I'm doing so badly!

My little 2-yr associate degree was fine for many years but I found that if I wanted to move up I needed to have my bachelors - which is one of the reasons I went back to college. I was a business major but found I had learned more about business 'on the job' than taught in the classroom, so changed to a subject that I love - history! Will take longer to finish because after so many years more prerequisites were added that I have to take, such as foreign language (my 3yrs in HS used to be sufficient-not now), public speaking (ugh) and a number of other classes outside my major. But I love school, so I'm not complaining!

Learned ALL my computer skills in the office and at home on my own - it was 'assumed' that I would teach myself on the weekends! Lucky for me I have a 'no fear' attitude about computers and pick up techniques quickly, but it would have been nice to have had support. Learned WordPerfect in one weekend because I had a healthcare contract to finish on Monday - but I did it! Having such an extensive knowledge of computers/windows in general really helped when I started building websites as many of the processes overlapped.

After finally getting appproval, the computer science department at CSUS is now offering a certification program, "Managing Information on the Web" - from internet, web server, scripts, database, etc. I plan to start this spring. Colleges will soon catch up in regards to offering programs and certification as this field is becoming too important to ignore. I found that the community colleges were faster to incorporate advanced internet classes than the 4-yr, and even the local high schools are adding web building classes.

But I believe that having a college education teaches you that there is more in life beyond the computer in front of you, as anyone can learn the technical skills with a book and experience and time. Having advanced degrees, certifications, etc. will not guarantee that you will have more success than if you worked alone to learn the techniques of the web. But it does give you a well-rounded interactive learning experience and most webmasters could use this balance in their lives...

I know that currently many employers are hiring those with experience alone, but as that pool of talented people increase (and it is!) then advanced 'formal' education or certificates might make the difference whether you or the person next to you is hired...

Dlynn :: SitePoint Senior Advisor ::PawPrint Designs by WebKat
"Dogs come when they're called; Cats take a message and get back to you later." ~ Mary Bly

I have no degrees. Went to programming school a very long time ago and learned mostly COBOL, but had my second child a couple of years later and stopped working in the field altogether before I really got started. There was no such thing as a PC then, so had no further contact with computers for years. When we finally got a PC (my husband is a programmer and had no interest in having one in the house for a long time) I taught myself to use it and did some online tutorials. I picked up a lot of information from a friend who is pretty much a web guru and also from some of the guys at work. One thing that's kind of blown me away is that the web guys are so receptive to anyone who's interested and has just a bit of knowledge even if she's older than their mothers.
If I was young I'd get a degree in the field for sure, but I'm not and I don't think it would be cost effective at this point in my life.

I have an associates degree in Commercial Art & Illustration, but I'm another self-taught computer junkie. I initially taught myself some basic web stuff to make a webpage for a arts-n-crafts gift shop I was trying to get off the ground. I ended up liking web design *more* than arts-n-crafts, and switched careers about two years ago. My employer didn't seem to mind that I didn't have any formal training, since I was better at what I did than the other job applicants who *did* have formal training. I do think my art background helps, though.